OJ Simpson road rage trial begins
An eight-member jury was selected behind closed doors in Miami yesterday for the road-rage trial of former football player OJ Simpson.
Jurors were selected over six days from a pool of 110 potential panel members.
They were questioned about Simpson’s acquittal in the 1994 killings of his ex-wife and her friend. A civil jury later found him liable and he was ordered to pay $33.5.
Defence attorney Yale Galanter said Simpson had significant input into selecting the panel of six men and two women.
Opening statements in the road-rage case were set for today.
Simpson faces up to 16 years in prison if convicted of felony auto burglary and misdemeanour battery charges over an encounter with a motorist on December 4, 2000.
Jeffery Pattinson says he honked and flashed his lights when Simpson’s sport utility vehicle rolled through a stop sign.
Simpson stopped and approached Pattinson’s SUV, and allegedly reached in and pulled off his glasses.
The key piece of prosecution evidence is Simpson’s thumbprint taken from Pattinson’s glasses.
The defence has portrayed Pattinson as the aggressor. Testimony is expected to last up to three days.
